Crown Prince Leka: “Kosovo and Albania should be united under a monarchy”

In an interview with the Albanian newspaper Diell, Crown Prince Leka II says that he thinks, the best solution for Kosovo and Albania would be to unite under a re-established Albanian monarchy. The Crown Prince points out that ever since the royal family returned from their life in exile, their task has been to take down barriers between the Albanians and promote the unification of the Albanian groups in the Balkans.

In addition, the new union that the Crown Prince proposes must have a monarch. The Crown Prince says to the newspaper that a Greater-Albania, ruled as a constitutional monarchy, will provide greater political stability than the current political system. The Crown Prince uses the United Kingdom and other Western European monarchies as examples of what Albania can achieve in the future as a Western-oriented constitutional monarchy.

On the question if Crown Prince Leka is willing to become king of a united Kosovo and Albania, the Crown Prince responded: “The royal family will always respect the will of the people. Being a prince or king is a life. Being able to serve my country is not seen by me as a job, but the greatest honour”.

The unification of Albania and Kosovo is a political idea, revived since Kosovo declared independence in 2008. This idea has been brought into connection with the irredentist concept of Greater Albania because about 90% of Kosovars are ethnic Albanians. Kosovo is predominately Albanian and with the Republic of Albania, shares some common administrative sectors such as education, policing, and foreign policy. Culture, heritage and trade have also been greatly unified between the two which also share an open border.

The president of Kosovo’s flag uses the Albanian eagle as its main symbol – the same symbol as the Royal Family. The symbol dates back to the 1400s and has always been used as the most common symbol of the Albanian kingdom. Photo: Mendim Rugova via Wikimedia Commons.

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Leka of Albania is the only child of the first Leka, Crown Prince of Albania. On 30 November 2011, he succeeded as head of the House of Zogu, titular King of the Albanians upon the death of his father. Prince Leka had been an official at the Albanian Ministry of Interior and in the past has served as an advisor at the Albanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Presidency.

The Prince is referred by some Albanian monarchists as King Leka II since the death of his father, whom they referred to as Leka I. In May 2010, the Prince became engaged to the Albanian actress Elia Zaharia, and they married on 8 October 2016 in Tirana.